Sunday, 27 September 2009

DVD Recommendation: "The Keys of Marinus"

This underrated story is an absolute must for any Doctor Who fan. Each episode is a story in itself as the Doctor, Ian, Barbara & Susan flit about the planet searching for the keys. The Voord are an excellent mysterious enemy, although rather underused in the story. The support cast are excellent, especially the superb actor playing Athos. There could have been more extras on the DVD, but the story itself is worth the price.

12 comments:

This underrated story is an absolute must for any Doctor Who fan.It is neither underrated, nor is it an absolute must. It is an infantile, poorly-thought out, badly-made runaround that doesn't make any sense and makes a ridicule of the regular characters. Compare Marco Polo and the Aztecs to either side, or even with The Daleks and you see what utter crap it was in comparison - a view shared by cast and crew alike.

Each episode is a story in itselfWhovianologist fail. The Millenius sequence takes two episodes.

as the Doctor, Ian, Barbara & Susan flit about the planet searching for the keys.Except the Doctor isn't in two of the episodes.

The Voord are an excellent mysterious enemy,In what way? They look stupid, trip over their own flippers, fall on their own knives, burn themselves with acid and are treated with contempt by their own leader. The script can't decide whether they're aliens, mutants or just men in suits. They aren't mysterious, just badly written as the slightest academic research would discover the truth about them - they were originally half-caste, interbred alien freedom fighters. But Nation, in his divine wisdom, decided he couldn't be bothered actually expanding the plot as he considered Doctor Who in very low esteem, an attitude that did not waver until the repeated failure to give the Daleks their own series.

The support cast are excellent,Arbitan is a theatrical moron who doesn't make eye contact, Darrius overacts and everyone in Millenius might as well be the forest of Cheem they are so wooden.

especially the superb actor playing Athos.Once again you let your carnal lust override your brain - you only like him because he doesn't wear any pants and has Ian rub his bare legs in episode four.

There could have been more extras on the DVD, but the story itself is worth the price.I got it for free off the TV - and THAT wasn't worth the price either.

This is just a kneejerk reactionary 'everything in the olden days is automatically great' post that shows how little thought is actually given to reviews nowadays.

I do not. The story is not poorly thought out,Yes it is. It's one of the most poorly-plotted stories in Doctor Who history.

Explain why, in episode one, Ian says they have been told the location of the keys but the rest of the story acts like they haven't been told? Why doesn't Arbitan mention that one of the keys is in a frozen tundra - it's a sheer fluke they didn't all die of hypothermia! And then why does Eprim, who actually sees the Key in a display case, spend months before even making the faintest attempt to take it back to Arbitan - as it's explained that the Milleniums would have let him take it without any resistance? Why is the fake key designed to be so obviously false that anyone who has access to a genuine one can tell the difference? If Arbitan can generate a force field around the TARDIS, why not generate one around the island? How can Barbara become an honored guest of Morphoton in the twenty seconds between teleporting and the others catching up with her? What happens to the Ice Soldiers or the Screaming Jungle - are they still out there slaughtering innocent people? Why do the Morpho brains have to make people think that their city is a paradise when they can just kidnap people and brainwash them into being zombie slaves? Why do the travel dials never take you to the same place you're supposed to - everyone is meant to reappear inside the pyramid at the last episode, but the Doctor ends up on the beach and the others in the tunnels? Just how does Arbitan modify the Conscience when he is unable to turn the thing on without the keys? Why does a false key cause the Conscience to explode instead of, say, simply not working at all? The first episode can't make up its mind if "Marinus" is the name of the glass island or the whole planet itself? Arbitan explains that inside his lifetime, the Conscience was switched off, causing crime and chaos - but in Millennius, any crime is unusual, even though they have a Nazi police force. Why would they need it if there was never any crime before or after the Conscience falling?

There's many, many more.

each episode has its own theme & settingNo they don't - the last two episodes case in point.

and it is quite tense in places such as when Barbara is almost assaulted by the bearded hut-dweller.You can't even remember his name!

And isn't it oh so convenient that he only tries to assault her seventeen seconds before Ian and Altos burst in - whereupon this serial killing rapist who can break wolves in half with his bear hands immediately surrenders instead of, say, trying to murder the pair of them?

It's a pantomime farce, especially as Vasor - yeah, that's his name, you rubbish Whovianologist - is actually a cannibal. People assume he's going to rape Barbara, but he actually wasn't. Dumbed down, you see, Spara, as the author hated Doctor Who before Dalekmania made him remotely interested.

I accept that there are plotholes in the story. However you could sit and nitpick plotholes in any Doctor Who story. My point ios that in terms of overall atmosphere and pace it works. I'm not saying it isn't flawed. I think the Voord were massively underused and not fully developed.

I accept that there are plotholes in the story. However you could sit and nitpick plotholes in any Doctor Who story.Not to the extent of Keys.

My point ios that in terms of overall atmosphere and pace it works.Your point is wrong.

I'm not saying it isn't flawed. I think the Voord were massively underused and not fully developed.You obviously haven't read The Fishmen of Kandalinga, The World Shapers or the Sweets Cigarettes Cards.

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The Operation Delta stories are a fan fiction spin-off from Doctor Who. OPeration Delta is an organisation that investigates paranormal activity and alien encounters. It is led by Ben Chatham, a former Doctor Who companion, along with Katie Ryan and Kyle Scott.